Poets Laureate of Great Britain Poets Laureate of Great Britain Poets Laureate of Great Britain by J. Zimmerman Several of the other Laureates were famous poets, particularly Ted Hughes , Robert Southey , John Masefield , Sir John Betjeman , Cecil Day-Lewis , and the current Laureate, Andrew Motion . History and responsibilities. In Great Britain, the Poet Laureate is: The realm's official poet. A member of the royal household. Charged with writing verses for court and national occasions (such as for a Royal Wedding or the New Year). Awarded the position for life. Chosen by the British reigning monarch, from a list of nominees that the Prime Minister compiles after a poet laureate dies. Shortly after the 1668, the position became the Poet Laureate of Great Britain in 1707, when The Act of Union created "Great Britain" as the political name of England, Scotland, and Wales. The name Laureate derives from the Latin laureatus ("crowned with laurel"). It comes from an ancient Roman tradition of honoring a person (especially a poet) who has shown excellence of achievement.

The honor is signified by presenting the person with a wreath of laurel leaves. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) on the Poets Laureate of Great Britain. What does "Laureate" mean? Answer . Who was the best? Most frequently this is said to be Tennyson . John Dryden (1631-1700). Laureate 1668-88. Appointed in 1668 by King Charles II, who gave John Dryden a formal royal warrant that awarded him the official titles of Poet Laureate and Historiographer Royal. This role continued under King James II. As a powerful satirist, Dryden was a strong advocate and spokesman for his monarch, and "the best poet, dramatist, translator and critic of the age" [ Levin in Verses of the Poets Laureate] In 1689, sacked [or fired] by William III for failing to take an oath of allegiance. Thomas Shadwell (1643?-1692). Laureate 1689-92.

The successful dramatist Thomas Shadwell was chosen in large part because he was a Protestant Whig, essential to replace the Catholic Dryden. met an inglorious end in 1693, A weak poet, a heavy drinker, and an opium user, Shadwell died from an overdose of opium, which he took in part to relieve his gout. He was said to have found the laureateship unimportant. Disrespected by John Dryden , among others, for his poetry as well as for his politics. Shadwell wrote a yearly ode on the monarch's birthday, and introduced the tradition of writing a New Year ode; his odes are crashingly uninspired and mechanistic, as if written by an unusually dimwitted computer program. Nahum Tate (1652-1715). Laureate 1692-1715. Born in Dublin, Tate was awarded the Poet Laureate position (and its £100 per year) but the post of Historiographer Royal (and its annual £200) became a separate assignment.

Tate is most known today for his authorship of the widely loved Christmas carol "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night". He is notorious for his (creative?) revision of Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, giving it a happy ending. In response to public events, Tate wrote poems for victories against the French (1704), the Act of Union between the Parliaments of England and Scotland (1707), and the signing of the Peace of Utrecht with France (1713). Nicholas Rowe (1674-1718). Laureate 1715-18. Nicholas Rowe was celebrated as a dramatist rather than as a poet. The Poet Laureate's role was now general praise of the sovereign, rather than political and historical. In addition to the annual New Year ode, the Laureate acquired the duty of writing a birthday ode to the monarch, a practice which was to last over 100 years. Laurence Eusden (1688-1730). Eusden never published a book of poetry. His work is mediocre. Colley Cibber (1671-1757).

The poetry of dramatist Colley Cibber was conscientious but not inspired. William Whitehead (1715-85). Laureate 1757-85. [The appointment was first offered to and declined by Thomas Gray.] William Whitehead (a respectable though perhaps dull dramatist) was good humored and amiable. For example, he defended the poetry of Laureates in a comic poem "A Pathetic Apology For All Laureates, Past, Present, And To Come". Whitehead was conscientious, and saw himself as a non-partisan spokesman for the whole country. Astonishingly for a political appointee, he appeared to see no requirement "to defend the King or support the government". Sadly, this reflects the idea that the Laureate's influence had weakened so much that the official poems were unlikely to influence opinions, even though the times were important politically, with rebellion in the American colonies and war in Europe. Thomas Wharton (1728-90). Laureate 1785-90. Professor of Poetry at Oxford, Wharton was the only eighteenth-century laureate who was not primarily a dramatist.

William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge admired his work. Henry James Pye (1745-1813). Laureate 1790-1813. Before Pye's appointment, the Sovereign or the Lord Chamberlain (a member of the Royal Household) awarded the Poet Laureateship directly. William Pitt (the first Prime Minister involved in appointing a Laureate) offered the position to Henry James Pye, a politician more than a poet. Thereafter, the Prime Minister submits names for royal approval. Then the monarch commands the Lord Chamberlain to issue a warrant of appointment. Robert Southey (1774-1843). Laureate 1813-43. [In a bizarre double-offer the appointment was offered to two writers concurrently. Fortunately, Sir Walter Scott turned down the approach by Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool.] Robert Southey accepted the suggestion of the post from the Prince Regent. When Scott declined the offer, he suggested Southey also, so the situation ended well. During Southey's tenure, George IV became monarch in 1820, and abandoned the requirement for regular odes to the monarch.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850). Laureate 1843-50. William Wordsworth, at 73, was the oldest Poet Laureate to be appointed. He accepted the position on the agreement that he would not have obligations to write poetry on demand. Since Wordsworth, the job of Poet Laureate has been purely honorary, and appointees have been able to interpret the role as they wish. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-92). Laureate 1850-92. [The appointment was first offered to and (to our benefit) declined by Samuel Rogers.] Alfred Tennyson raised the stature of the Poet Laureate hugely. His laureate poems include The Charge Of The Light Brigade (the suicidal charge by the Light Brigade down a valley at Balaclava during the Crimean war). Tennyson's death was mourned publicly by millions. In respect, no appointment was made to the post of Poet Laureate for four years. Alfred Austin (1835-1913). A pompous man, least successful of the Poets Laureate.

Robert Bridges (1844-1930). Uninterested in fame and praise, Bridges wrote little and destroyed his papers before his death. John Masefield (1878-1967). Laureate 1930-67. Born in Ledbury, Herefordshire, England, Masefield apprenticed to be a merchant marine officer. While training, he became ill in Chile, returned to England, then worked in factories and bars in the United States. In 1897 he returned to England, working on newspapers and his own writing (poems, stories, and plays). Masefield published his first volume of poems in 1902. He served during World War I in the Red Cross in France and on a hospital ship at Gallipoli. His simple and moving poems include the famous Sea Fever. Cecil Day-Lewis (1904-72). Laureate 1968-72. Anglo-Irish Cecil Day-Lewis was a poet, critic, and educator who enjoyed the honor of being the Poet Laureate. A student at Oxford with Auden. A committed Communist though naive politically.

Hi poetry are often romantic and melancholy. Also he wrote detective stories (using the pseudonym Nicholas Blake). Sir John Betjeman (1906-84). Laureate 1972-84. Born in Highgate (North London). Sir John Betjeman wrote humorous and accessible poetry. Betjeman commemorated royal events such as The Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. Ted Hughes (1930-98). Laureate 1984-1998. [Appointed on the refusal of poet Philip Larkin .] Born in Yorkshire. A fierce, sometimes ferocious, poet of the natural and the mythological worlds, of "the struggle in the soil as well as in the soul" [ Levin in Verses of the Poets Laureate] . Also authored poetry and plays for children. Despite the "no obligations" clause, Hughes did write in commemoration of royal events, such as the christening of Prince Henry of Wales in 1985. Andrew Motion (1952-present). Laureate 1999-2012.

Buy Verses of the Poets Laureate: from John Dryden to Andrew Motion , by Phillis Levin (Editor) and Andrew Motion (Introduction): describes and shows the work of the first 19 poets appointed as Poet Laureate since Charles II created the first in 1668. Andrew Motion, an acclaimed poet and biographer, teaches creative writing at the University of East Anglia. He promotes poetry among young people. His poems addressing many public events as well and royal occasions, including the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. A critic, and a free-form poet who interweaves the personal, the historical, the legendary, and the political. Carol Ann Duffy (1955-present). Buy Selected Poems by Carol Ann Duffy , first female Poet Laureate. Carol Ann Duffy (poet, university professor, playwright, and freelance writer) is the first woman and the first Scottish-born poetry to be appointed Poet Laureate. She graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Liverpool in 1977.

Her books like Feminine Gospels (2002) and Mrs Scrooge show her skill in long narrative poems, written in an accessible style and often including surreal imagery. Other work, like Rapture (2005) are poems of passion and love. She also writes poetry (such as The Hat, 2007) for children. Not-quite Poets Laureate of Great Britain. These poets were not Poets Laureate, for the reasons given. Ben Jonson (1573-1637), a playwright and poet, a volatile satirist of explosive temperament and "a great lover and praiser of himself", was not formally appointed as Poet Laureate. John Dryden was the first appointed Poet Laureate, as shown by the official royal record (starts in a new window). At best, Jonson was a "common law" poet laureate (as in "common law" husband). Some believe Jonson to be the greatest English poet and dramatist of the seventeenth century. Many praise his charm and good humor. His vigor and productivity is clear.

Jonson learned the trade of bricklayer, fought with English troops in Flanders, then returned to London to become an actor and playwright, a writer of masques (short pageant-like plays), and a tutor to Sir Walter Raleigh's son. In 1597 Jonson was imprisoned for involvement in the satire The Isle of Dogs, which authorities found seditious. He was tried for killing a fellow actor in a duel in 1598. Imprisioned for this, he converted to Catholicism to be spared death for murder. He was released provided that he forfeit all his possessions, and that he receive a felon's brand on his thumb. Charged with treason for his tragedy Sejanus, His Fall (1603) and then briefly imprisoned for views in Eastward Ho (1604), Jonson (a Catholic) was under deep suspicion after Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot (1605). This situation may have motivated him, shortly thereafter, to reconvert to Anglicanism. He did become court poet to King James I. One of Jonson's most famous poems, "To Celia", begins "Drink to me, only, with thine eyes...".

Buried upright in Westminster Abbey, standing on his feet in the northern aisle of the Nave (and not in Poets' Corner) beneath the inscription "O Rare Ben Johnson" William Davenant, or Sir William D'Avenant. After Jonson's death, dramatist Davenant [D'Avenant] inherited Jonson's office and pension, again as an unofficial appointment. Links Poets Laureate of the United States of America . Books about the Poets Laureate of Great Britain. Buy Verses of the Poets Laureate: from John Dryden to Andrew Motion , by Phillis Levin (Editor) and Andrew Motion (Introduction): describes and shows the work of the first 19 poets appointed as Poet Laureate since Charles II created the first in 1668. Related Books. Top 10 Greatest British Poet Laureates - TheTopTens® Top 10 Greatest British Poet Laureates MikeFuller This is a list of the British Poet Laureates I consider to be best. It is not a list of the best poets to be given the post.

Example Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) British Poet Laureate 1843-1850 wrote nothing for the post of British Poet Laureate. The Top Ten 1 Alfred Lord, Tennyson (1809 - 1892) Hmm... I prefer prose to poetry. I would certainly be more enthusiastic if you made a list about novels and writers. To be honest from your list I have only read Tennyson and Ted Hughes and I'm not very fond of them. Guilty! British Poet Laureate 1850 - 1892 The poem 'The Charge Of The Light Brigade' by Tennyson is perhaps the most notable ever Laureate poem! He chronicled events so well, and did such a great job! He held the post for 42 years, the longest legnth of time on the post. There was about 4 years gap in respect before Austin was given the post in 1896.

- MikeFuller 2 John Masefield (1878 - 1967) British Poet Laureate 1930 - 1967 He was a great poet who represented so well the working classes! He stood for people and working labour and was a great laureate! - MikeFuller 3 Dryden (1631 - 1700) British Poet Laureate 1668 - 1688 Despite being sacked from the post he was a great poet who wrote fantastic verse for the laureateship! - MikeFuller I love his One Happy Moment poem. The emotion just floats from it and into your heart. The verse: "I can die with her, but not live without her..." Just beautiful. Project MUSE - <i>Tennyson and Victorian Periodicals: Commodities in Context</i> (review) Rosemary T. VanArsdel (bio) Kathryn Ledbetter, Tennyson and Victorian Periodicals: Commodities in Context (Aldershot and Burlington: Ashgate, 2007) pp. 244, £50, cloth.

Queen Victoria reigned as the British monarch for 63 years (1837–1901), and for 42 of those years (1850–1892), Alfred, Lord Tennyson served as Poet Laureate, or poet of the nation. The two shared ideas about duty, steadfastness of character, heroism, and patriotism, qualities that endeared them both to the Victorian citizen. And they also shared an antipathy to the rise of periodical literature—he, because he feared loss of control over his work once it left his hands, and she, because she disliked “the aggressive production of texts and the resultant loss of control” (143). Yet neither could escape the inexorable march of periodical publication throughout the century, brought about by constantly improving technology and wide proliferation of a literate reading public. Tennyson, during his long career, maintained a love/hate relationship with periodical publication of his work, whether early in annuals or later in major journals, and whether in British or American publications.

On the one hand, he needed the income and exposure to the public that journalism offered, while on the other he deplored loss of control that spasmodic publication threatened, as well as the ultimate commodification of his “art.” Ledbetter’s study offers the first book-length account of the poet’s relationship with the Victorian press, charting his career from the first prize-winning poem “Timbuctoo,” which was published in the Cambridge Chronicle and Journal on [End Page 177] July 10, 1829, to his last public utterance as Poet Laureate, “On the Death of the Duke of Clarence and Avondale” (son of Edward VII and heir apparent to the British throne), which was published in the Nineteenth Century in February 1892. Although a slender volume, every section of this book is just packed with new material, based on detailed and wide-ranging archival research.

The first chapter presents a definitive look at the history, evolution, and eventual disappearance of the literary annual (labeled by Tennyson as those “vapid” gift books), with their watered silk covers, tooled leather, and elaborate engravings, intended more for drawing room ornamentation than for serious reading. Nevertheless, nearly every important author of the 1820s and 1830s, Tennyson among them, appeared in this format, where editors paid high fees for contributions. Despite his scorn for the genre, Tennyson submitted his work for “much needed exposure to a burgeoning new middle class reader” and for preparation “for the [much later] role of Poet Laureate” (9). By the 1850s annuals were outdated but Tennyson had used them profitably to launch his career. Other chapters show the poet wrestling with commercialization of his work, and later, as his reputation grew, with the struggle between the public and private lives of a poet. His wife Emily, who took an active interest in the ethical and economic aspects of her husband’s work, disliked his publication in journals and preferred the slender volume instead, but she did not prevail.

Tennyson’s war poetry, often severely criticized by later commentators, nonetheless had the effect of dramatizing an event, such as “The Defense of Lucknow” or “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” and preserving it for posterity. Another segment of Tennyson’s work, what Ledbetter refers to as “laureate poetry,” addressed the royal family or their concerns, where he adopted the “poetic voice of the State” (143). In all of these roles Tennyson clearly felt connected to his readers in an heroic or patriotic way. In a final provocative chapter, Ledbetter examines Tennysonian fortunes in America, where all English authors in the nineteenth century struggled with absence of copyright restrictions. She suggests that in Tennyson’s case this worked in his favor, allowing editors endless cutting and pasting of his longer poems, such as The Princess or In Memoriam, thereby increasing his readership and reputation, and in some cases his pocketbook. Thus his work became even more widely beloved in America than in Britain due to a wider familiarity. One of the great strengths of this book is to be found in its indices, A, B, and C. In the course of his career...

Access options available: Poet Seers » Alfred Tennyson The Great Poets » British Poets » Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson (1809 – 1892) was Poet Laureate of Great Britain during much of Queen Victoria’s reign and remains one of the most popular British poets. He is the most frequently quoted author in the Oxford Dictionary of quotations, such as “‘Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all”, “Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die” Alfred Tennyson – About English author often regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian age in poetry . Tennyson succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in 1850; he was appointed by Queen Victoria and served 42 years. Tennyson’s works were melancholic, and reflected the moral and intellectual values of his time, which made them especially vulnerable for later critic. Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire. His father, George Clayton Tennyson, a clergyman and rector, suffered from depression and was notoriously absentminded.

Alfred began to write poetry at an early age in the style of Lord Byron . After spending four unhappy years in school he was tutored at home. Tennyson then studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he joined the literary club ‘The Apostles’ and met Arthur Hallam, who became his closest friend. The undergraduate society discussed contemporary social, religious, scientific, and literary issues. Encouraged by ‘The Apostles’, Tennyson published POEMS, CHIEFLY LYRICAL, in 1830, which included the popular ‘Mariana’. He travelled with Hallam on the Continent. By 1830, Hallam had become engaged to Tennyson’s sister Emily. After his father’s death in 1831 Tennyson returned to Somersby without a degree. His next book, POEMS (1833), received unfavorable reviews, and Tennyson ceased to publish for nearly ten years. Hallam died suddenly on the same year in Vienna. It was a heavy blow to Tennyson. He began to write ‘Im Memorian’ for his lost friend – the work took seventeen years.

A revised volume of Poems, which included the ‘The Lady of Shalott’ and ‘The Lotus-eaters’. ‘Morte d’Arthur’ and ‘Ulysses’ appeared in 1842 in the two-volume POEMS, and established his reputation as a writer. In ‘Ulysses Tennyson portrayed the Greek after his travels, longing past days: “How dull it is to pause, to make an end, / To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!” After marrying Emily Sellwood, whom he had already met in 1836, the couple settled in Farringford, a house in Freshwater on the Isle of Wright in 1853. From there the family moved in 1869 to Aldworth, Surrey. Tennyson’s life was then uneventful. In London he was a regular guest of the literary and artistic salon of Mrs Prinsep at Little Holland House. During these later years he produced some of his best poems. Among Tennyson’s major poetic achievements is the elegy mourning the death of his friend Arthur Hallam, In Memoriam (1850).

The personal sorrow led the poet to explore his thoughts on faith, immortality, and the meaning of loss: “O life as futile, then, as frail! O for thy voice to soothe and bless! What hope of answer, or redress? Behind the veil, behind the veil.” Among its other passages is a symbolic voyage ending in a vision of Hallam as the poet’s muse. Some critics have seen in the work ideas, that anticipated Darwin’s theory of natural selection. “Who trusted God was love indeed / And love Creation’s final law – / Tho’ Nature, red in tooth and claw / With ravine, shriek’d against his creed – “, the poet wrote. He was born in the same year as Darwin, but his view about natural history, however, was based on catastrophe theory, not evolution. The patriotic poem ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’, published in MAUD (1855), is one of Tennyson’s best known works, although first Maud was found obscure or morbid by critics ranging from George Eliot to Gladstone. Later the poem about the Light Brigade inspired Michael Curtiz’s film from 1936, starring Errol Flynn.

Historically the fight during the Crimean war brought to light the incompetent organization of the English army. However, the stupid mistake described in the poem honored the soldier’s courage and heroic action. In the 1870s Tennyson wrote several plays, among them poetic dramas QUEEN MARY (1875) and HAROLD (1876). In 1884 he was created a baron. Tennyson died at Aldwort on October 6, 1892 and was buried in the Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey. Soon he became the favorite target of attacks of many English and American poets who saw him as a representative of narrow patriotism and sentimentality. Later critics have praised again Tennyson. T.S. Eliot has called him ‘the great master of metric as well as of melancholia’ and that he possessed the finest ear of any English poet since Milton .

TENNYSON, A.: Great Poets (The) Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892) The Victorians’ favourite poet and Poet Laureate for 42 years, Alfred Tennyson was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, in 1809. His father was a rector who had been disinherited, resulting in the loss of a considerable fortune. But finance was perhaps the least of Tennyson’s concerns: in one form or another, alcohol, drugs, depression and various mental problems were to affect every one of the Tennyson family (there were 12 children), with all suffering at least one breakdown, one dying young, one being admitted to an asylum and one a drug addict. His father was an alcoholic and also diagnosed with epilepsy, although that may have been a misreading of his drunken rages. Epilepsy was thought to have its root in what was considered aberrant sexual behaviour (masturbation in particular) and thus shameful. It was also thought to be hereditary.

Tennyson therefore had good reason to be concerned about his inheritance, and any worries he had would no doubt have been sharpened by the fact that he had a powerful imagination, capable even when young of sending him into a trance-like state (ironically, it is possible that this was actually a form of epilepsy). The brooding intensity of his home life was echoed in the dramatic landscapes of his native county, and the two acted as inspiration for his imagination, which found its outlet in poetry. He was passionate about it but completely dedicated—he wrote a 6,000-line epic at the age of 12 and a blank verse drama at 14. By 1827, when he was at Trinity College, Cambridge, he had published a collection of poetry, written with his brothers Charles and Frederick. At Cambridge he won a prestigious poetry prize, became a much-admired and liked figure (despite his shyness) and met Arthur Henry Hallam. The two were members of a group of fervent students called the Apostles, and Tennyson and Hallam became close friends. There is no evidence to suggest it was a homosexual relationship, but it was undoubtedly profound and intense.

Tennyson published two further volumes of poetry, in 1830 and 1833, which although in some respects immature did not deserve the pasting they got from the critics. The Quarterly Review was particularly harsh (it was known at the time as the ‘Hanged, Drawn and Quarterly’); but there was work of potential amounting to genius in the collections, including The Lady of Shalott and The Lotus-Eaters. Tennyson did not publish again for nine years but apart from the dispiriting reviews of his work there were other reasons for his procrastination. Hallam had never been healthy, and in 1833, aged just 22, he died. At Cambridge he had been regarded as the brightest of a group of brilliant young men, and his death was a shock to many but none more so than Tennyson whose grieving even surpassed that of his sister who was engaged to Hallam. Over the next seventeen years he wrote poetry in strikingly simple form (four octosyllabic lines, rhyming a b b a) that charted his emotional journey in response to Hallam’s death.

Being written over so great a period, his work had no straightforward narrative; it was a series of immediate responses to emotional and intellectual stimuli, all in some way sparked by the loss of his friend. It was also hugely wide-ranging, including sequences examining scientific developments and their implications. It was called In Memoriam, and was published in 1850. The intervening years had been hard. His father died leaving almost nothing, widening the rift between those who had inherited and Tennyson’s immediate family. Meanwhile, his work was unappreciated, he had very little money and was living at friends’ houses or with his mother and family. He was still concerned about his mental health and was drinking and smoking too much (quite a feat for the times). He was isolated physically and emotionally, with the result that although he became engaged to childhood sweetheart Emily Sellwood, he did not feel he could marry. He was always writing and produced some of his finest works, such as Ulysses, Tithonus and Break, Break, Break, but all this effort would go unrecognised and unappreciated if no one saw it.

Friends finally nagged him into publishing two volumes in 1842, one a significant revision of earlier works, the other comprising new material. They were received with almost universal acclaim. Despite a serious financial setback which brought on another serious bout of melancholia, requiring the rather alarming water treatment of the time, it was also the beginning of his rise to prominence and security. In 1845 the Prime Minister, Robert Peel, was persuaded to give him a pension of £200. Three years later, after another bout of hydrotherapy for his depression, he was reassured that he was not suffering from epilepsy—an immense relief for a man who thought his inspirational trances might be a symptom of shameful madness. In 1850, In Memoriam was published and he finally married Emily Sellwood. On the death of William Wordsworth that year, he was made Poet Laureate, and for the next 42 years he was the nation’s poet.

As Laureate, apart from writing those works which were expected of him, he also continued to write extensive narrative poems, which although in some measure popular at the time were never really his forte; indeed, it was often the lyric poems he inserted within them (such as Tears, Idle Tears) that gave his longer works their enduring popularity. A similar fate befell his frequent attempts at drama, an area where he was convinced he had a gift, despite the repeated attempts of the public to persuade him otherwise. But he was held in generally profound and warm regard, although he was never very comfortable with the attentions of the public; and it was this awkwardness at being a public man that made him refuse a peerage several times until finally persuaded by Gladstone in 1884 to accept. Although he attended the House of Lords on a few occasions, he never spoke from the benches.

From 1854 he lived in the beautiful and secluded village of Freshwater on the Isle of Wight, from where he continued to produce poetry of depth and invention—from the magisterial Idylls of the King (which includes another nod to evolution in the lines ‘The old order changeth, yielding place to new’) to the beautiful To Virgil. He died in 1892 aged 83 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. In the sphere of poetry, Tennyson completed the development of the Romantics, filled the gap between Byron and the Modernists, and can be regarded as perhaps second only to Shakespeare in his use of language. But his enduring qualities go beyond the limitations of historical analysis. Notes by Roy McMillan Alfred Lord Tennyson - Maneesh Rastogi Maneesh Rastogi United Kingdom Works & Achievements Was the Poet Laureate for United Kingdom from 1850 to 1892, Baron of Aldworth in the County of Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight, Wrote famous books like, "In Memoriam A.H.H.".

Alfred Lord Tennyson was a poet laureate of the United Kingdom during the reign of Queen Victoria and also one of the most known poets in English Literature. He continued and refined the traditions of Romantic Movement left to him by his predecessors, Wordsworth, Byron and Keats. His poetry was considered remarkable for its metrical variety, rich descriptive imagery and exquisite verbal melodies. His subject matter ranged from medieval legends to classical myths and from domestic situations to observations of nature. He had excelled the art of writing short lyrics which can be evident from his poems like, "In the valley of Cauteretz", "Break, Break, Break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears" and "Crossing the Bar". One of his noted works include "In Memoriam A.H.H.", which he wrote to commemorate his best friend Arthur Hallam. His other significant works include "Idylls of the King", "Ulysses", and "Tithonus". Also, many of his phrases have become commonplaces of English Literature today.

Some of his most frequently used phrases include "Nature, red in tooth and claw", "T'is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all", "Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers", "The old order changeth, yielding place to new" and so on. After Shakespeare, Tennyson is the second most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Alfred Lord Tennyson Childhood & Early Life Alfred Lord Tennyson was born on August 6, 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire. His father, George Clayton Tennyson was a rector for Somersby and few other institutions. Tennyson belonged to a noble and royal ancestry. His father was a man of superior abilities and varied skills and had made significant contribution in the field of painting, architecture, music and poetry. Alfred Tennyson’s mother,Elizabeth Fytche was the daughter of Stephen Fytche who was the vicar of St. James Church, Louth (1764). The couple had twelve children and Alfred Tennyson was fourth amongst them. His father took significant attention and care of his children’s education and training.

Alfred, along with his two brothers, Charles Tennyson Turner and Frederick Tennyson, was sent to Louth Grammar School in 1816. The threesome had started penning poems in their early teens, which resulted in the publication of a combined collection of the poems of the three brothers, when Alfred was only seventeen years old. After attending Louth Grammar School for four years, Tennyson enrolled himself Scaitcliffe School, Englefield Green and King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth. In 1827, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge where he joined a secret society known as Cambridge Apostles. At the Cambridge only, Tennyson met Arthur Henry Hallam who became his best friend. The same year in 1827, his first poem collection, “Poems by Two Brothers” was published which had compositions from him and his elder brother Charles. His first composition, “Timbuctoo” brought him the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge in 1829. The following year, he published his first solo poem collection, “Poems Chiefly Lyrical”.

This poem collection had the famous poems like “Claribel” and “Mariana” and became popular for its sentimental nature. Returning to Lincolnshire The year 1831 came with sudden turmoil in Tennyson’s life. His father died as a result of which Tennyson had to leave Cambridge mid-way, before taking his degree. After returning to the rectory, he stayed there for next six years to take care of his widowed mother and family. His best friend, Arthur Henry Hallam came to stay with him in summer where he met Alfred’s sister, Emilia Tennyson. The two fell in love and got engaged. The year 1833 was worse for Tennyson, for his second collection of poetry was heavily criticized. He decided not to publish any other poem for next ten years. The same year, Arthur Hallam suddenly died in Vienna due to cerebral haemorrhage. The sudden death of Arthur Hallam deeply affected Tennyson and influenced his poetry.

It inspired him to write masterpieces like, “In the Valley of Cauteretz" and “In Memoriam A.H.H.” After staying in rectory for six years, Tennyson and his family moved to High Beach, Essex in 1837. He also invested in wood carving enterprise during this period, but met with huge losses. Consequently, he moved to London and resided in Chapel House, Twickenham. Career and Later Life While living in London, Tennyson published two volumes of “Poems”. While the first collection had the already published poems, the second collection comprised of entirely new poems. This poem collection included famous poems like, “Locksley Hall”, “Tithonus”, and “Ulysses”. 1850 came as the golden year for Tennyson. He was on the top of his literary career and finally published his dedication to Arthur Hallam, “In Memoriam A.H.H.”. The same year he was appointed as the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, succeeding William Wordsworth. He remained on the post of Laureate till his death in 1892.

While on the post of Poet Laureate, Tennyson produced various appropriate verses which included, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington” and “Ode Sung at the Opening of the International Exhibition”. Queen Victoria was a fervent admirer of Tennyson’s writings and made him the Baron Tennyson of Aldworth in the County of Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight in 1884. He was offered baronetcy earlier as well, in the year 1865 and 1868, but on both occasion, he refused to accept the offer, finally accepting it in the year 1883, at Gladstone's earnest solicitation. He took his seat in the House of Lords on March 11, 1884. During the last years of his life, Tennyson wrote about his religious beliefs and revealed how he dared convention and also about his leaning towards agnosticism and pandeism.

His few famous religious comments include, "There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds” which he wrote in “In Memoriam” and "The churches have killed their Christ” which he wrote in “Maud”, 1855. Personal Life Alfred Tennyson married Emily Sellwood on June 13, 1850 in the village of Shiplake. Both knew each other since childhood days, but didn’t come close until Tennyson’s brother Charles married Emily’s younger sister, Louisa. The couple had two sons, Hallam Tennyson born in August 11, 1852 and Lionel born on March 16, 1854. Death Tennyson continued to write till his last days. He died on October 6, 1892 at Aldworth. He was aged 83 and long-lived like most of his family members. He was buried at Westminster Abbey. Later, a memorial was erected for him in All Saints' Church, Freshwater.

Alfred Lord Tennyson Timeline: Biography of Alfred Lord Tennyson Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson Poets of England Poet Biography English author often regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian age in poetry. Tennyson succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in 1850; he was appointed by Queen Victoria and served 42 years. Tennyson's works were melancholic, and reflected the moral and intellectual values of his time, which made them especially vulnerable for later critic. Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire. His father, George Clayton Tennyson, a clergyman and rector, suffered from depression and was notoriously absentminded. Alfred began to write poetry at an early age in the style of Lord Byron. After spending four unhappy years in school he was tutored at home. Tennyson then studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he joined the literary club 'The Apostles' and met Arthur Hallam, who became his closest friend. The undergraduate society discussed contemporary social, religious, scientific, and literary issues.

Encouraged by 'The Apostles', Tennyson published Poems, Chiefly Lyrical in 1830, which included the popular Mariana. He travelled with Hallam on the Continent. By 1830, Hallam had become engaged to Tennyson's sister Emily. After his father's death in 1831 Tennyson returned to Somersby without a degree. His next book, Poems(1833), received unfavourable reviews, and Tennyson ceased to publish for nearly ten years. Hallam died suddenly on the same year in Vienna. It was a heavy blow to Tennyson. He began to write Im Memorian for his lost friend - the work took seventeen years. A revised volume of Poems, included the The Lady of Shalott and The Lotus-eaters. Morte d'Arthur and Ulysses appeared in 1842 in the two-volume Poems, and established his reputation as a writer.

In Ulysses Tennyson portrayed the Greek after his travels, longing past days: "How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!" Among Tennyson's major poetic achievements is the elegy mourning the death of his friend Arthur Hallam, In Memoriam (1850). He was born in the same year as Darwin, but his view about natural history, however, was based on catastrophe theory, not evolution. The patriotic poem Charge of the Light Brigade, published in Maud (1855), is one of Tennyson's best known works, although at first Maud was found obscure or morbid by critics ranging from George Eliot to Gladstone. Later the poem about the Light Brigade inspired Michael Curtiz's film from 1936, starring Errol Flynn. Historically the fight during the Crimean war brought to light the incompetent organization of the English army. However, the stupid mistake described in the poem honoured the soldier's courage and heroic action. In the 1870s Tennyson wrote several plays, among them poetic dramas Queen Mary (1875) and Harold (1876).

In 1884 he was created a baron. Tennyson died at Aldwort on October 6, 1892 and was buried in the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. Soon he became the favourite target of attacks of many English and American poets who saw him as a representative of narrow patriotism and sentimentality. Later critics have praised again Tennyson. T.S. Eliot has called him 'the great master of metric as well as of melancholia' and that he possessed the finest ear of any English poet since Milton. Related Links Alfred Lord Tennyson – author of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ - The British Library Alfred Lord Tennyson, British Library Biography Tennyson was the grand old man of Victorian poetry, holding the Laureateship for 42 years and famous for In Memoriam A.H.H. , The Idylls of The King and Maud, and Other Poems – the last of which includes ‘ The Charge of the Light Brigade ’. He was born at Somersby Rectory, near Lincoln in 1809, the fourth of 12 children, and taught by his father to love poetry from an early age.

In 1827, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he found the teaching dull but made strong friendships, notably with Arthur Hallam, who wrote to Gladstone that he was ‘promising fair to be the greatest poet of our generation, perhaps of our century’. In 1829, he won the Chancellor’s Gold Medal for his poem ‘Timbuctoo’. He left Cambridge after the death of his father, and published two collections of poems in the early 1830s, which included ‘ The Lady of Shalott ’, ‘Mariana in the South’ and ‘The Lotos-Eaters’. Undeservedly venomous criticism discouraged him, but he rallied and improved the weaker poems. In October 1833, the sudden death of Hallam plunged him into a period of deep depression and mourning. Over the next 17 years he continually worked on and revisd a poetic tribute to his friend, which he published as In Memoriam A.H.H. in 1850. The poem became one of the best known and best loved of the period, with Queen Victoria saying that next to the Bible, it was her greatest comfort following the death of Prince Albert.

The month after the publication of In Memoriam, Tennyson married Emily Sellwood, and in November he was appointed Poet Laureate. Tennyson wrote many of his most famous poems, such as ‘Morte d’Arthur’, ‘Ulysses’ and ‘St Simeon Stylites’ in the period between Hallam’s death and the publication of In Memoriam. In 1847 he published The Princess, a long narrative poem on the subject of women’s education. The Tennysons moved to the Isle of Wight in 1853. The Crimean War inspired him to write ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, which appeared first in The Examinerin December 1854. In 1859, he published the first four poems in his Arthurian poem cycle Idylls of the King; the twelfth and final poem in the cycle would not be published until 1885. Queen Victoria granted Tennyson a barony in 1883. He died in 1892. Further information about the life of Alfred Tennyson can be found here via the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Name

Question: Who was Poet Laureate for the longest period (42 years from 1850 to 1892)?
Answer: Alfred Lord Tennyson